Swimming Lessons

Swimming Lessons

by Claire Fuller

Genre: Fiction

Synopsis:  Ingrid Coleman writes letters to her husband, Gil, about the truth of their marriage, but instead of giving them to him, she hides them in the thousands of books he has collected over the years. When Ingrid has written her final letter she disappears from a Dorset beach, leaving behind her beautiful but dilapidated house by the sea, her husband, and her two daughters, Flora and Nan.

Twelve years later, Gil thinks he sees Ingrid from a bookshop window, but he’s getting older and this unlikely sighting is chalked up to senility. Flora, who has never believed her mother drowned, returns home to care for her father and to try to finally discover what happened to Ingrid. But what Flora doesn’t realize is that the answers to her questions are hidden in the books that surround her. Scandalous and whip-smart, Swimming Lessons holds the Coleman family up to the light, exposing the mysterious truths of a passionate and troubled marriage. 

from GoodReads

Review:  I read over 50 pages into this book and was just completely uninterested in the story.  I was remotely interested in Flora's life and what would happen to her when she went back home but the letters that Ingrid wrote just turned me off from the book.  I think all her letters were written later but they were looking back when she first met Gil.  But her letters were pretty confusing and the time jumping really threw me off plus Gil seemed very strange.  I could not relate to any of the characters at all. 

Rating: abandoned

Britt-Marie Was Here

Britt-Marie Was Here

by Fredrik Backman

Genre: Fiction

Synopsis:  Britt-Marie can't stand mess.  A disorganized cutlery drawer ranks high on her list of unforgivable sins.  She begins her day at 6 a.m. because only lunatics wake up later than that.  And she is not passive-aggressive.  Not in the least  It's just that sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms, which is certainly not her intention.  She is not one to judge others-no matter how ill-mannered, unkempt, or morally suspect they might be.

But hidden inside this socially awkward, fussy busybody is a woman who has more imagination, bigger dreams, and a warmer heart than anyone around her realize.

When Britt-Marie walks out on her cheating husband and has to fend for herself in the miserable backwater town of Borg-of which the kindest thing one can say is that it has a road going through it-she is more than a little unprepared.  Employed as the caretaker of a soon-to-be demolished recreation center, the fastidious Britt-Marie has to cope with muddy floors, unruly children, and a (literal) rat for a roommate.  She finds her herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow citizens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, and layabouts-and a handsome local policeman whose romantic attentions to Britt-Marie are as unmistakable as they are unwanted.  Most alarming of all, she's given the impossible task of leading the supremely untalented children's soccer team to victory.  In this small town of bighearted misfits, can Britt-Marie find a place where she truly belongs?

from the book jacket

Review:  I was hesitant to pick this book up but something drew me to checking it out from the library.  I started reading it and I found Britt-Marie to be very quirky but intriguing.  I started reading and found myself liking her character with all the eccentricities.  Once Britt-Marie got to Borg, I became much less interested in the book as I was really confused by the other characters in the story and the book became way to quirky for my taste.  For someone who appreciate the quirks in people, I'm sure this would be a much better fit for them.

Rating: abandonded

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

by Fredrick Backman

Genre: Fiction

Synopsis:  Elsa is seven years old and different.  Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy-as in standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-men-who-want-to-talk-about-Jesus-crazy.  She is also Elsa's best, and only friend.  At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother's stories, in the Land-of-Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas, where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal.

When Elsa's grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged, Elsa's greatest adventure begins.  Her grandmother's instructions lead her to an apartment building full of misfits, monsters, attack dogs, and old crones, but also to the truth about fairy tales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other.

from the back of the book

Review:  The writing in this book isn't bad, I just wasn't interested in the story any longer.  I read the first hundred pages and while I thought the beginning when Granny was still alive to be interesting, after Granny dies, the story goes no where.  The beginning is full of stories about Miamas, Granny's make believe world that she brings Elsa into.  I just didn't care about Miamas and I figured the rest of the book would be about the lands in Miamas and the characters there.  This just wasn't a book for me.

Rating: abandoned

Chosen

Chosen

by Chandra Hoffman

Genre: Fiction

Synopsis:  It all begins with a fantasy: the caseworker in her "signing paperwork" charcoal suit standing alongside beaming parents cradling their adopted newborn, set against a fluorescent-lit delivery-room backdrop.  It's this blissful picture that keeps Chloe Pinter, director of the Chosen Child's domestic-adoption program, happy while juggling the high demands of her boss and the incessant needs of both adoptive and biological parents.

But the very job that offers her refuge from her turbulent personal life and Portland's winter rains soon becomes a battleground involving three very different couples: the Novas, well-off college sweethearts who suffered fertility problems but are now expecting their own baby; the McAdoos, a wealthy husband and desperate wife for whom adoption is a last chance; and Jason and Penny, an impoverished couple who have nothing-except the baby everyone wants.  When a child goes missing, dreams dissolve into nightmares, and everyone is forced to examine what he or she really wants and where it all went wrong.

Told from alternating points of view, Chosen reveals the desperate nature of desire across social backgrounds and how far people will go to get the one thing they think will be the answer.

from the book jacket

Review:  I read a little less than half of the book before I put it down to read something else.  That was months ago and I have tried to pick it up and read from where I left off.  I've completely forgotten what has happened in the book and I really don't care about what will happen.  I didn't even get to the point where a baby went missing.  I'm pretty sure at least one of the babies had been born but that was about it.  The characters were whiny and unlikable, especially Chloe's boyfriend and Jason, the father of the baby who is being put up for adoption.  The McAdoos are annoying.  As interesting as the synopsis was this book lacked development to hold my interest.

Rating: abandoned

All of Us and Everything

All of Us and Everything

by Bridget Asher

Genre: Women's fiction

Synopsis:  The Rockwell women are nothing if not . . . Well, it’s complicated. When the sisters—Esme, Liv, and Ru—were young, their eccentric mother, Augusta, silenced all talk of their absent father with the wild story that he was an international spy, always away on top-secret missions. But the consequences of such an unconventional upbringing are neither small nor subtle: Esme is navigating a failing marriage while trying to keep her precocious fifteen-year-old daughter from live-tweeting every detail. Liv finds herself in between relationships and rehabs, and Ru has run away from enough people and problems to earn her frequent flier miles. So when a hurricane hits the family home on the Jersey Shore, the Rockwells reunite to assess the damage—only to discover that the storm has unearthed a long-buried box. In a candid moment, Augusta reveals a startling secret that will blow the sisters’ concept of family to smithereens—and send them on an adventure to reconnect with a lost past . . . and one another.

from GoodReads

Review:  I was intrigued by the synopsis but the characters were just too quirky and blase for me.  I just didn't care about any of the characters and I couldn't keep reading about them because they were annoying.

Rating: abandonded

The Light in the Ruins

The Light in the Ruins

by Chris Bohjalian

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Synopsis: 1943: Tucked away in the idyllic hills south of Florence, the Rosatis, an Italian family of noble lineage, believe that the walls of their ancient villa will keep them safe from the war raging across Europe.  Eighteen-year-old Cristina spends her days swimming in the pool, playing with her young niece and nephew, and wandering aimlessly amid the estate's gardens.  But when two soldiers, a German and an Italian, arrive at the villa, the Rosati's bucolic tranquility is shattered.  A young German lieutenant begins to court Cristina, the Nazis descend upon the estate demanding hospitality, and what was once their sanctuary becomes their prison.

1955: Serafina Bettini, an investigator with the Florence Police Department, has her own demons.  Serafina carefully hides her scars along with her haunting memories of the war.  But when she is assigned to a gruesome new case-a serial killer who who is targeting the Rosatis and murdering the remnants of the family one by one in cold blood-Serafina finds herself digging into a past that involves both the victims and her own tragic history.

from the back of the book

Review:  I listened to this as an audiobook and got through one and a half cds.  This book was completely different than I thought it would be.  I really like historical fiction books but this one was much more mystery than I like.  It was gruesome at parts and I just couldn't listen to it.  The historical aspect to the story didn't keep me interested enough to keep listening to the murder mystery parts.

Rating: abandonded

Unwrapped

Unwrapped

Erin McCarthy
Donna Kauffman
Kate Angell

Genre: Christmas Romance

Summary (from Goodreads): From the streets of Chicago to the back roads of Kentucky to the wild dunes of a Scottish isle, mistletoe and mischief are this season’s hottest gifts...

Blue Christmas
ERIN MCCARTHY, New York Times bestselling author
While a blizzard blankets the world outside, Blue Farrow burrows into the arms of her highway hunk at the No Tell Motel. The road might be closed for dangerous conditions, but the couple navigates their own Kentucky Christmas curves. Nice and oh-so-naughty, Blue and her man open up to each other as they keep the Yule log burning.

Santa in a Kilt
DONNA KAUFFMAN, USA Today bestselling author
The wind-whipped December sands of the isle of Kinloch invigorate Kira McLeod as she sets out to tame rugged Shay Callaghan, a Scottish bachelor as wary of a wedding ring as a snowman is of the hot sun. It’ll take all the wiles of the canny islanders to weave a perfect Celtic Christmas for all...

Snow Angel
KATE ANGELL, National bestselling author
Snowed under in Chicago, free spirit Allie is trapped in Dutton’s department store on Christmas Eve when the lights go off and the holiday romance heats up. Our snow angel finds herself face to face with the dashing Aiden, the heir to the retail riches and her host for a night of winter wonder...

 
Review:  I generally love cozying up with a Christmas anthology in the middle of December, but I guess I have grown out of sexy Christmas romance short stories.  (Although I never liked romance stories where the characters jumped into bed too quickly.)  In the first story, the two main characters seemed quite likable, but then they jumped into bed together for no really good reason, and made me lose all respect for them as people.  The second story seemed to be part of an ongoing series, and since I had never read the first part of the series, I was left feeling confused and uninterested.  I gave up before the third story.

Rating: abandoned

Chasing Sunsets

Chasing Sunsets

Karen Kingsbury

Genre: Christian Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads): From #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury comes the second novel in the Angels Walking series about divine intervention and the trials and triumphs of life: the dramatic story of a woman desperate to find deeper meaning in her life.

Growing up in a comfortable home, Mary Catherine wanted for nothing. Though she loves her wealthy parents, their lifestyle never appealed to her. Instead, Mary Catherine pursues meaning through charity work, giving away a part of herself but never giving away her heart.

Now Mary Catherine lives in Los Angeles with her roommate, Sami, and volunteers at a local youth center with baseball coach Tyler Ames and LA Dodgers pitcher Marcus Dillinger. Despite Mary Catherine's intention to stay single, she finds herself drawing close to Marcus, and their budding romance offers an exciting life she never dreamed of. That is, until she receives devastating news from her doctor. News that alters her future and forces her to make a rash decision.

Inspirational and moving, Chasing Sunsets is the story of one woman's deep longings of the soul, and the sacrifices she's willing to make in search of healing.
 
Review:  I was getting bored with this book, so I put it down and picked up a different book instead, thinking that I just needed a break from the unrelenting goodness of the main character.  Well, three months later, I had to return it to the library because I couldn't renew it any more, and I had never wanted to pick it up again.  The characters seemed pretty stereotypical, and it was obvious how the story was going to end, but I have felt that way about other Christian fiction books and still enjoyed them.  So I'm not quite sure why I couldn't get into this one, except to say that it seemed to be missing a spark.

Rating: abandoned

Hugo & Rose

Hugo & Rose

by Bridget Foley

Genre: Fiction

Synopsis: Rose is disappointed with her life, though she has no reason to be-she has a beautiful family and a perfectly nice house in the suburbs.  But to Rose this ordinary life feels overshadowed by her other life-the one she leads every night in her dreams.

Ever since Rose had an accident as a child, her dreams have taken her to a wondrous island fraught with adventure.  On this island, she has never been alone: she shares it with Hugo, a brave boy who's grown up into a hero of a man.

But when Rose stumbles across Hugo in her waking life, her real world and dream world are changed forever.  Here is the man who has shared all of her incredible adventures in impossible places, who grew up with her-even if each isn't what the other imagined.  Their chance encounter begins a cascade of questions, lies, and a dangerous obsession that threatens to topple everything she knows.  Is she willing to let go of everything she holds dear to understand their extraordinary connection?  And will it lead her to discover who she truly wants to be.

from the book jacket

Review:  I picked this book up randomly from the new fiction section at my library.  The cover caught my eye and the description sounded interesting.  I had such a hard time getting into this book.  I would read a page and be utterly bored.  I disliked Rose because she just seemed so depressed about her normal life.  The fantasy aspect of Rose's dream/fantasy world about Hugo just didn't interest me in the least.  I normally don't like fantasy so perhaps this book just isn't for me.  I finally had to give up on it because it was making me not want to read.

Rating: Abandoned

The Birth House

The Birth House

by Ami McKay

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis:  An arresting portrait of the struggles that women faced for control of their own bodies, The Birth House is the story of Dora Rare—the first daughter in five generations of Rares.

As apprentice to the outspoken Acadian midwife Miss Babineau, Dora learns to assist the women of an isolated Nova Scotian village through infertility, difficult labors, breech births, unwanted pregnancies, and unfulfilling sex lives. During the turbulent World War I era, uncertainty and upheaval accompany the arrival of a brash new medical doctor and his promises of progress and fast, painless childbirth. In a clash between tradition and science, Dora finds herself fighting to protect the rights of women as well as the wisdom that has been put into her care.

from GoodReads

Review:  For some reason I am intrigued by stories about midwives.  I thought I would enjoy this book but I just couldn't get into this book at all.  The beginning was just heavy, full of historical stories/lore that didn't make sense to me.  The format was also confusing.  There would be narrative and then all of a sudden a diary entry and it made the reader wonder if the whole thing was a diary entry.  Perhaps if I had kept reading to the part where Dora learns about being a midwife I would have enjoyed it more but I just couldn't get past the beginning.

Rating: Abandonded

Dark Witch

Dark Witch

by Nora Roberts

Genre: Romance

Synopsis:  With indifferent parents, Iona Sheehan grew up craving devotion and acceptance. From her maternal grandmother, she learned where to find both: a land of lush forests, dazzling lakes, and centuries-old legends.

Ireland.

County Mayo, to be exact. Where her ancestors’ blood and magic have flowed through generations—and where her destiny awaits.

Iona arrives in Ireland with nothing but her Nan’s directions, an unfailingly optimistic attitude, and an innate talent with horses. Not far from the luxurious castle where she is spending a week, she finds her cousins, Branna and Connor O’Dwyer. And since family is family, they invite her into their home and their lives.

When Iona lands a job at the local stables, she meets the owner, Boyle McGrath. Cowboy, pirate, wild tribal horseman, he’s three of her biggest fantasy weaknesses all in one big, bold package.

Iona realizes that here she can make a home for herself—and live her life as she wants, even if that means falling head over heels for Boyle. But nothing is as it seems. An ancient evil has wound its way around Iona’s family tree and must be defeated. Family and friends will fight with each other and for each other to keep the promise of hope—and love—alive…

from the book jacket

Review:  When I am in the mood for a romance novel, I usually look for a Nora Roberts books.  This first book in her newest series did not live up to my expectations.  The characters were flat, the romance was lackluster, and the witch aspect too dark and reminiscent of her Three Sisters trilogy.  Instead of reading this to completion, I chose to pick up something that sounded better.

Rating: Abandoned

Secret Santa

Secret Santa

Fern Michaels, Marie Bostwick, Laura Levine, Cindy Myers

Genre: Christmas Romance

Summary (from the publisher): Christmas is the time for miracles, mayhem, and holiday romance in these wonderful stories from four of today's most beloved authors…


"Mister Christmas" by Fern Michaels
A week before Christmas, attorney Claire O'Brien is summoned to Ireland to change her wealthy client's will--only to encounter resistance from his handsome nephew. Will Claire be forced to spend the holidays up close and personal with her irresistible Irish nemesis?


"The Yellow Rose of Christmas" by Marie Bostwick
Though Miss Velvet Tudmore wrote off romance years ago, rumor has it she has a secret admirer. And when her surprise suitor promises to reveal himself at the annual Christmas ball in Too Much, Texas, Velvet starts to wonder: is it ever too late to find love?


"Nightmare on Elf Street" by Laura Levine
Aside from the mortifying costume, how bad can a gig as a mall Santa's elf be? Jaine Austen finds out when she's teamed up with the Santa from Hell. But things go from bad to worse when he's found murdered on the job--and Jaine is a suspect. Now all she wants for Christmas is to find the real killer…


"Room at the Inn" by Cindy Myers
When a Rocky Mountain blizzard forces Barb and her husband to spend Christmas in a remote Colorado cabin with their fellow travelers, Barb struggles to cope--especially when her husband reveals troubling news. But sometimes a holiday shake-up is all a woman needs to discover what she's truly made of….

Review:  I have a secret weakness for cheesy holiday romance short story collections, and so I thought this would be a fun book to read in the car on the way down to my in-laws to celebrate Christmas.  However, I was seriously put off by the beginning of the first story, when Claire gets drunk in an airport and vomits in the bathroom then runs to catch her plane completely hungover.  I have no interest at all in reading about the shenanigans of irresponsible young women like this, so I gave up on the book.  I did come back to it later and read the last story, "Room at the Inn" by Cindy Myers, which I mostly enjoyed.  It was a nice little story where rich society wife Barb discovers the joy in having a simple Christmas, and in the last page, discovers what she really wants to do with her life.  I read the first page or two of the middle two stories, but decided they weren't my cup of tea either.

Rating: abandoned

Love Comes Calling

Love Comes Calling

by Siri Mitchell

Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance

Synopsis:  When a look-alike friend asks Ellis Eton to fill in for her as a telephone operator, Ellis jumps at the chance.  For her, the job will provide not only acting practice but the funds to get Ellis a start in the movies.  She's tired of always being a disappointment to her traditional Boston family, and though she can't deny the way he makes her head spin, she knows she's not good enough for Griffin Phillips, either.  It's simple: avoid Griff's attentions, work, and get paid.  But in typical Ellis fashion, her simple plan spirals out of control when she overhears a menacing phone call...with her very own Griff as the target.

from the back of the book

Review:  I picked up this book off the new fiction section at my library thinking that it would be a nice easy read that had a good story.   But this novel certainly failed to deliver.  I really wanted to stop reading after less than 50 pages but I forced myself to keep going to see if it would get better because the ratings that I saw for this book were favorable.  I let myself stop after 110 pages.  Ellis seems like such a flighty and ditsy girl who didn't make for a great protagonist.  I read later in the author's notes that Mitchell purposely gave Ellis "impulsive, restless minds" that would be diagnosed as ADHD these days.  I didn't get this at all from the character.  Ellis just annoyed me.  Her behavior seemed so young and immature and I just didn't want to keep reading about her.

Rating: abandoned

Red Rising

Red Rising

Pierce Brown

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children. But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow-- and Reds like him-- are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class. Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity' s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society' s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies . . . even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.

Review:  OK.  This book has a rating of 4.16 on Goodreads, and has been compared favorably to The Hunger Games, which means that there was a good chance I'd love it.  But I found it bloodydamn boring, gory and unrealistic.  The beginning was quite interesting - a civilization of slaves on Mars mining for the upper classes, but the catch is that they don't know they're slaves.  There's a little romance, a very little character building, some drama, and then BAM.  Off into crazy sci-fi land. Cursing?  Way too much.  Completely changing the main character's body, including skeleton, heart, muscles and all that?  Too unrealistic, even for science fiction or dystopian fiction.  The writing style?  Not mine.  Sentences?  Too choppy.  Reviewers seem to think that the middle and end are gripping and fantastic, but I just couldn't get that far into it.

Rating: abandoned

Threads of Change

Threads of Change

by Jodi Barrows

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: In the first book of a Quilting Story series, the four cousins-with social graces, charm, and a love for quilting-will face the anguish of life on the frontier in 1856 with every turn along the wagon trail.  Raging storms and adversities hit the small band of travelers.  Relieved to finally arrive at the abandoned military post at Forth Worth, Texas, they begin the hard work of establishing a new home.  When trials follow them, they must decided to become true warriors of their hearts, minds, and souls or fall to the sufferings of prairie life.

From the back of the book

Review:  This book seems like it should be up my alley-I love historical fiction and women's fiction.  But this book was not written well.  The dialogue was so cheesy and inexpertly written.  I felt like I was reading a book written by an amateur writer in a creative writing class.  Perhaps the author was able to finesse her writing skill throughout the book but I just couldn't read anymore.

Rating:  unrated

Once Upon a Prince

Once Upon a Prince

Rachel Hauck

Genre: Romance

Summary (from Goodreads):  Once Upon a Prince, the first novel in the Royal Wedding series by bestselling author Rachel Hauck, treats you to a modern-day fairy tale.

Susanna Truitt never dreamed of a great romance or being treated like a princess---just to marry the man she has loved for twelve years. But life isn’t going according to plan. When her high-school-sweetheart-turned-Marine-officer breaks up instead of proposing, Susanna scrambles to rebuild her life.

The last thing Prince Nathaniel expects to find on his American holiday to St. Simon’s Island is the queen of his heart. A prince has duties, and his family’s tense political situation has chosen his bride for him. When Prince Nathaniel comes to Susanna’s aid under the fabled Lover’s Oak, he is blindsided by love.

Their lives are worlds apart. He’s a royal prince. She’s a ordinary girl. But everything changes when Susanna receives an invitation to Nathaniel’s coronation.

It’s the ultimate choice. His kingdom or her heart? God’s will or their own?

Review: When I picked this book up, I guess I didn't read the jacket closely enough, because I had no idea that this was Christian fiction.  Now, there are some Christian fiction books that I have really enjoyed reading, so I am not penalizing this book simply for being in that genre.  What I found off-putting was the amount of religious fervor that the characters displayed; for example, Prince Nathaniel walked into a church and fell prostrate on the ground praising God, and Susanna lost her job and her home and basically just said she would "give her life to God" and didn't do anything herself to solve her problems.

I ended up putting the book down for a few reasons.  In addition to the issues mentioned above, I felt like the relationship between Susanna and Nathaniel developed too quickly to be realistic, and that Susanna's reaction to the breakup of her 12 year relationship with her boyfriend was completely incomprehensible.  Also, the amount of time spent explaining the history of the Brighton entail and how it would affect the future of the two countries got very very boring.  There was also something about the language that bothered me - the sentence structures and word choices didn't seem genuine to the characters' nationalities (but perhaps they are, and I'm just ignorant).

The premise still sounds interesting to me (although completely reminiscent of The Prince & Me), but I have so many wonderful-sounding books in my to-read pile that I decided I didn't want to waste my time on this one.

Rating: NA